Zerobabel Gay, sometimes known as "Babel", was born around 1758 and died in 1838. He
was most likely the son of Kinchen Gay, born Sep 4 1738, and he was my
fourth great-grandfather.
Zerobabel enlisted in the North Carolina militia in 1781 when we was 21 or 22 -- even he didn't know his age at the time, so that's his Captain's guess. He participated in at least one proper battle, Guilford Courthouse, a defeat in which the North Carolina militia were reputed to have beat an overly-hasty retreat. Apparently Guilford Courthouse was a Pyrrhic victory for Cornwallis, and played a role in his eventual surrender. Zerobabel went on to some garrison duty in South Carolina and Georgia before being honorably discharged in 1782. See Zerobabel Gay in the Revolutionary War for more details.
According to Lanette Hill Brightwell's rather confusing book, Zerobabel Gay ran wagon trains through the Cumberland Gap. This comes from his passport applications in North Carolina and Georgia. Passports were required because he was passing through foreign Indian territory. I haven't seen those papers myself, and I don't know when all this happened. But I think these travels, combined with his military experience, show that Zerobabel was familiar with a wide territory. That may help explain his willingness to move his family somewhat late in life.
In 1797, at about 40, Zerobabel married Selah Corbett, who was probably no older than 16. They had their first child about a year later, and went on to have about nine more. When their last child Elisha was born in 1827, Zerobabel would have been about 68 and Selah was 44 or so. The age difference combined with having children late meant that this family covered a huge timespan -- Zerobabel served in the revolutionary war, and one of his sons lived into 1908!
In my experience the age difference is very unusual, particularly for a first marriage. In the genealogical sense, when you see something like this it's much more common that you've missed a generation, perhaps confusing a father for his son. But in this case both the relationship and the ages are well documented in the pension records. I suppose it's therefore notable that one of their sons married a teenager 21 years younger than himself as well. Two other sons married women about 10 years younger than themselves. Must have been a thing in that family.
By contrast, women having children well into their 40's was, as far as I can tell, fairly common.
Zerobabel and Selah were married in North Carolina. According to Zerobabel's pension statement they moved first to Georgia, where according to Brightwell Zerobabel had been awarded bounty land along the Tar River, next door to two possible relations. Today that would be on the edge of Fort Benning. Some time between 1821 and 1825 the family moved to Tennessee, in Davidson County near Nashville. That seems like a big move late in life, but again Zerobabel had traveled widely, and he may have had connections in the area.
Zerobabel died in 1838 at the age of 80 or more. In the 1840 Census Selah was the head of a household of seven people. Aside from heads of households they didn't list names in that Census, but they counted people by age and sex. So we know that Selah was the only woman in the house (female 50-59), with three boys under 20, and three over 20. One of the latter was between 40 and 49; if he was one of her sons, it would have had to be her eldest Henry. She also had three daughters, but they were all married and off on their own, as was one of her sons. They had no slaves.
In the 1850 Census Selah was living with her sons John and Dempsey, 33 and 23 at the time. Her son Seaburn Gay, my third great-grandfather, was living next door with his wife Mary and four kids, including his 3 year-old daughter Sela, my second great-grandmother, presumably named for her grandmother. They both appear as "Celia" in the Census.
The older Selah lived on near Nashville until about 1860, when at the age of 78, and on the eve of the Civil War, she up and moved to Kentucky to join her son Dempsey. She lived her last days in Marshall County, in the township of Benton. My Mom thought that county and that town might have inspired her father's first and middle names.
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| A page purportedly from the Gay family Bible noting Zerobabel's birth in 1755 and Kinchen's in 1738. But who in the family could write? |
- Zerobabel Gay (1758-1838) married Selah Corbett (1781-1868)
- Their son Seaburn Gay (1821-1900) married Mary Searls (1824-1880)
- Their daughter Sela Gay (1847-1890) married William Ashcraft (1844-1900)
- Their son Charles B. Ashcraft (1878-1900) married Bertha Lee Simons (1882-1968)
- And their son Marshall Benton Jackson (1900-1999) was my grandfather
Zerobabel enlisted in the North Carolina militia in 1781 when we was 21 or 22 -- even he didn't know his age at the time, so that's his Captain's guess. He participated in at least one proper battle, Guilford Courthouse, a defeat in which the North Carolina militia were reputed to have beat an overly-hasty retreat. Apparently Guilford Courthouse was a Pyrrhic victory for Cornwallis, and played a role in his eventual surrender. Zerobabel went on to some garrison duty in South Carolina and Georgia before being honorably discharged in 1782. See Zerobabel Gay in the Revolutionary War for more details.
According to Lanette Hill Brightwell's rather confusing book, Zerobabel Gay ran wagon trains through the Cumberland Gap. This comes from his passport applications in North Carolina and Georgia. Passports were required because he was passing through foreign Indian territory. I haven't seen those papers myself, and I don't know when all this happened. But I think these travels, combined with his military experience, show that Zerobabel was familiar with a wide territory. That may help explain his willingness to move his family somewhat late in life.
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| "Zerobabel Gay and Selah his wife were married the 17 day of August 1797. Henry Gay son of Zerobabel Gay and Selah his wife was born the 22 day of September in the year of our lord 1798." Births of Nancy, Clary Elizabeth and Zerobabel Jr follow. |
In my experience the age difference is very unusual, particularly for a first marriage. In the genealogical sense, when you see something like this it's much more common that you've missed a generation, perhaps confusing a father for his son. But in this case both the relationship and the ages are well documented in the pension records. I suppose it's therefore notable that one of their sons married a teenager 21 years younger than himself as well. Two other sons married women about 10 years younger than themselves. Must have been a thing in that family.
By contrast, women having children well into their 40's was, as far as I can tell, fairly common.
Zerobabel and Selah were married in North Carolina. According to Zerobabel's pension statement they moved first to Georgia, where according to Brightwell Zerobabel had been awarded bounty land along the Tar River, next door to two possible relations. Today that would be on the edge of Fort Benning. Some time between 1821 and 1825 the family moved to Tennessee, in Davidson County near Nashville. That seems like a big move late in life, but again Zerobabel had traveled widely, and he may have had connections in the area.
Zerobabel died in 1838 at the age of 80 or more. In the 1840 Census Selah was the head of a household of seven people. Aside from heads of households they didn't list names in that Census, but they counted people by age and sex. So we know that Selah was the only woman in the house (female 50-59), with three boys under 20, and three over 20. One of the latter was between 40 and 49; if he was one of her sons, it would have had to be her eldest Henry. She also had three daughters, but they were all married and off on their own, as was one of her sons. They had no slaves.
In the 1850 Census Selah was living with her sons John and Dempsey, 33 and 23 at the time. Her son Seaburn Gay, my third great-grandfather, was living next door with his wife Mary and four kids, including his 3 year-old daughter Sela, my second great-grandmother, presumably named for her grandmother. They both appear as "Celia" in the Census.
The older Selah lived on near Nashville until about 1860, when at the age of 78, and on the eve of the Civil War, she up and moved to Kentucky to join her son Dempsey. She lived her last days in Marshall County, in the township of Benton. My Mom thought that county and that town might have inspired her father's first and middle names.
We are related and would like to connect he is my 5th Great Grandfather. I also have an Ancestry Account and have done the DNA for DAR and such. This is great information!
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